The U.S. President-elect and Vice President-elect have been feted with this year's top honor by Time Magazine following their historic win at the election.
- Dec 12, 2020
AceShowbiz - Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year.
The publication has revealed the pair - who were elected United States president and vice-president respectively last month (Nov20) - have both been recognised after their historic win.
In a package making the announcement, TIME editor-in-chief Edward Felstenthal said, "Person of the Year is not just about the year that was, but about where we're headed, and the next four years are going to be an enormous test of them and all of us to see whether they can bring about a unity."
Every elected U.S. president has been named Person of the Year during their term although the vice-president has been added this year due to the nature of their victory.
Incumbent president Donald Trump had the honour in 2016 while Barack Obama was named Person of the Year in 2012.
Reflecting on the election results, Biden said, "This moment was one of those do-or-die moments. Had Trump won, I think we would have changed the nature of who we are as a country for a long time."
Meanwhile, Harris added, "We're at a moment where we will be confronted by many crises that have converged. We're talking about a public health crisis, we are in the midst of an economic crisis, a long-overdue reckoning on racial injustice, and a climate crisis. We got a lot of things that we need to handle, and we will multitask to address them all."
The Person of the Year honour is not regarded as an award, but rather a marker of who TIME's editors consider to be the most significant historical figure.
Last year (19), teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg was on the cover.
For 2020, the likes of BTS were recognised as Entertainer of the Year and basketball star LeBron James claimed Athlete of the Year.
